Soul Confessions
by Annamae Tezuka
Summary: Prologue: While fighting a demon, Kagome and Kikyo, against all odds, team up. After Kikyo recieves a fatal blow, she confesses her soul to Kagome as her few remaining moments ebb away.Main Story: A while after the death of Kikyo, Kagome is still feeling
1. Prologue pt 1

Kagome glared at the demon before her, fitting her last arrow, ready to strike at any moment. She didn't know how it would hit the seemingly untangle, liquid-like Soul Demon Akkimaru, one of Naraku's most powerful incarnations, but she knew that she had to try. If she didn't, then... She couldn't even think about it without having the tears spring to her eyes. The one she loved, his life was in danger. She couldn't let Akkimaru take him away from her!

It was probably about ten minutes previous that InuYasha and Akkimaru's battle had taken place. InuYasha had been on the offensive, Akkimaru dodging airily, showing no effort, making InuYasha's temper flare. Then, InuYasha had done the Kaze no Kizu, which had badly wounded him somehow, even though the damage wasn't visible. Akkimaru had gotten angry, and started screaming for souls. Kanna, who had been the one closest to him at that moment, suddenly fainted. A shiny silvery orb floated out from her mouth, and Akkimaru had i eaten /i it. It seemed that this thing was her soul. The very second that he had swallowed it, Kanna had died and turned to ash. InuYasha was enraged that he would kill his own kin like that, temporarily not caring that Akkimaru had just finished off one of Naraku's incarnations, and attacked particularly powerfully. That was when Akkimaru suddenly threw a strange string at InuYasha. Before anyone could realize what was happening, InuYasha was unconscious on the ground and a dull silver orb was floating in front of Akkimaru. Kagome had run to InuYasha's side, not sure what was wrong until Miroku figured it out and cried, "Akkimaru has stolen InuYasha's soul!" Akkimaru had laughed a laugh that almost beat Naraku's, and said "This soul has great potential, but it is not yet ripe. I must let it ripen first." With that, he had made a strange appendage-like sac off of his back, where the spider mark was, and put InuYasha's soul in it! Kagome had run after him, and that brought her here, with her last arrow ready to kill the demon that threatened InuYasha's life.

"Mmm...the hanyou's soul is almost ripe enough to eat! My desire for it grows just at the thought of how delicious it must taste," Akkimaru said in his low, husky, woman-like voice. Kagome's heart filled with fear as she realized it was now or never. Her arrow was already glowing a pink so bright it hurt your eyes, she had poured so much miko chi into it. She chose now, and shot it straight towards Akkimaru. It nailed him in the head, however, despite the amount of power she had put into her arrow, it was still not enough to kill Akkimaru. He seemed to be generating a large amount of power himself, ready to kill Kagome for even being so foolishly insolent as to try and kill him, but another arrow pierced his head. He howled in pain as the tips of the two arrowheads touched, sending a huge explosion of miko chi throughout his body, destroying his demonic composition. He disintegrated while collapsing to the ground. "Where did that arrow come from?" Kagome wondered. Her question was soon answered when someone came out from the bushes. However, as is often the case, the answer to one question often leads to many others. Kagome's reaction was true to form, as she said in shock, "Kikyo!"

The preincarnation of Kagome, Kikyo, looked up from where she was, picking up the arrow she had shot. "I am low on arrows, so I must salvage as many as possible," she said in her monotonous tone. "You should do the same, I see," she added, pointing to Kagome's empty quiver. Kagome blushed slightly, for some reason embarrassed. "Kikyo, why--" she started, full of so many questions she wanted to ask that she didn't know where to start. At this, Kikyo stood up and, surprisingly, smiled. Not in an evil way, but in a friendly and kind way. She said to Kagome, "I understand that you are full of questions, but those will have to wait. First, I think we should return this to it's rightful owner, don't you think?" she said, and then started towards where InuYasha was. Kagome didn't move for a minute. She was stunned. Kikyo, the woman that hated InuYasha, the one that wanted him dead because of the events she had heard off all too many times fifty years ago, the one that was born of anger and hatred, was smiling and going to save the very person she wanted to kill? This was just too weird. Despite this, Kagome couldn't help but feel like she could trust Kikyo for once. She didn't know why that this was so clear, it just was. "Are you coming?" Kikyo called back, breaking through Kagome's thoughts. "Yes, I am!" she said, running to catch and keep up with Kikyo.

Back in the clearing, with InuYasha still lying, unconscious, and Sango, Miroku, and Shippo looking over him worriedly, Kikyo and Kagome entered. Their tense looks and preparations for sudden combat to defend themselves and InuYasha didn't disappear, as they considered Kikyo an enemy. It took Kagome telling them to stand down for them to do so, and let Kikyo walk up to InuYasha and replace his soul. She prayed a moment as the soul started to be absorbed, then said, "He'll be all right. You!" she pointed at Miroku, Sango, and Shippo, "Take him somewhere where he can rest. My younger sister, Kaede's house isn't far from here." They didn't move. "What about Kagome?" Miroku asked skeptically. "We have some things to discuss. We'll be at the old shrine that's slightly west of here. That is, if you want to go," she added, turning to Kagome. Kagome nodded. "I'll go."

At the shrine, Kikyo led Kagome to a large, flat rock, where they sat down. "Ask away," she said to Kagome, who blinked and paused before she got out her first question. "What were you doing back there?" Kikyo said "I sensed the presence of Naraku, and when I arrived at the scene, I saw Akkimaru steal InuYasha's soul." Kagome nodded. "But I thought that you wanted InuYasha dead or something?" Kikyo was about to answer, but she suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Be on your guard, Kagome," she said. Kagome noted the serious tone of her voice, so she didn't leave herself time to be absolutely shocked that Kikyo had used her name. A huge white rabbit with blood red eyes and teeth the size of Kagome jumped in front of them. "I see, so this is the form Akkimaru has reverted to," Kikyo said, ready for battle. Kagome was about to ready herself for battle as well, but realized that she was out of arrows. "Go into the shrine! There should be arrows there!" Kikyo yelled, shooting the arrow she had collected straight back at Akkimaru. Kagome didn't waste a second retrieving them. She ran back out, an arrow already fitted and ready for action. "Here!" she said, handing Kikyo one of the two quivers full of arrows. The two miko got ready to fight Akkimaru and hopefully kill him for good. Akkimaru sent one of his enormous and sharp teeth flying at them. They both countered simultaneously, pinning him to the ground. "That should hold him---arrgh!" Kikyo said, crying out in pain as the tooth sliced her arm. "Kikyo!" Kagome exclaimed. "Heh," Kikyo said, "I never thought I'd die again like this...Kagome, I know the questions you wanted to ask me, and I'll try to tell you before I return to the afterlife."


	2. Prologue pt 2

Kikyo spared no time in starting her confession to Kagome, since she knew that she probably had little time left:

"When I was first revived from the land of the dead, I wanted to kill InuYasha, since he was the one that I thought had murdered me. When I discovered that Naraku was the one who had deceived us and really had been the one to kill me, I decided to pretend to take sides with him. I helped him try to defeat you, I helped him collect the Shikon no Tama, all the while secretly waiting for my moment, when his guard was down, to strike him down and kill him. I wanted to kill him, I wanted to kill InuYasha, for some reason I was angry and wanted to kill everyone. I didn't feel any hatred towards you, just confusion that I was seeing myself, only it was not me. It was only when I saw you and InuYasha together, sharing the relationship that I once had, that I got jealous. It wasn't long before I realized I was hating everyone, but I wasn't sure why. It was only recently that I realized...that the feelings inside of me are not just part of the soul that was taken from you. Part of the feelings I have are thanks to the fact that I was taken from my peaceful existence in the afterlife. My vengeance and hatred and jealousy, that wasn't present when I died. It only returned to me when my grave was robbed, disturbing my spirit. The one that dug me up was full of evil intentions, and those feelings were the ones that most embodied evil, so those were the ones I was suddenly feeling. I have been, as of late, able to control these negative feelings and actually have something strangely close to happiness, but it seems that will never happen in this world. I'm almost glad that I'm dying again, that I may hopefully rest in peace once more." Kikyo coughed, blood spattering all over the place. "K-kagome," she started. "Yeah?" said Kagome, her eyes full of pity, sorrow, and fear. "Be...be happy...with InuYasha...for me..." she whispered, and her eyes closed. Kikyo died with a serene smile on her face, Kagome holding her head up so she could breathe easier to the very last. Kagome, being the human girl that she was, cried all throughout this, her tears increasing at Kikyo's last words, voicing her last wish. i She really loved InuYasha...enough to accept in the end that he may be with someone else...Kikyo... /i 

Half of an hour later, Kagome walked into Kaede's hut, red eyed and sleepy. "Kagome, what happened?" Sango exclaimed worriedly, seeing at once that she had been crying. "Kikyo...Kikyo is dead," she said quietly, then started sobbing again. InuYasha was still unconscious, blissfully unaware that the one he loved fifty years ago was once again no more.

((Wow, that was a weird two-parter...should have just made it a one shot. Oh well, I'm too lazy to do that xD. So...this story is for Kikyo haters because she dies (for the umpteenth time), but it's also for those who are neutral or even Kikyo lovers because this was supposed to show her in a good light for once. Just to show that I'm actually neutral about her and not a one hundred percent Kikyo basher. Please read and review and tell me what you think!))


	3. Chapter 1

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango asked worriedly, kneeling next to the sobbing girl. They were alone in InuYasha's Forest, and Kagome had just suddenly broke down in the middle of fighting a cow demon. InuYasha and Miroku had gone to finish the demon off, while Sango had stayed to comfort Kagome, and try to help her through whatever trouble she was having. "I still can't stop thinking about Kikyo," Kagome sobbed. "What?" Sango hadn't anticipated Kikyo's death to be the problem. She was expecting that she and InuYasha had been in a fight or something, or Miroku had done something lecherous, or even something had happened in her time that was bothering her. "Sango, this may sound crazy, but when Kikyo died, I think a part of me died with her." Kagome said. "Ever since that day, after she said to be happy with InuYasha for her, I've felt like there's a huge void in my heart." Sango decided that it might be a good idea to investigate this a little. "What part of your heart feels like a void?" she asked. "I don't really know, I just know that when Kikyo died again, since I'm her reincarnation or something, it's like I died too. Sometimes I feel cold-hearted and ruthless, as if purged of all my emotions. After that I get overly emotional, like just now. It's tearing me apart, Sango, it really is. I'm so confused!" Sango thought a moment. "Kagome," she started. "Yes?" Kagome asked. "You know, there is a remote shrine somewhere in Japan, the Shrine of Wisdom. I'm sure that if we could locate this shrine, we could find the answer to your problem." Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Sango." she said.

Just then, InuYasha and Miroku returned; InuYasha running, Miroku on Kirara. "Kagome, are you all right?" InuYasha asked worriedly. "Yes, I'm fine," she said, "thanks for asking." "You had us worried there," Miroku said. "Well, Sango helped me a lot. No need to worry about me now!" she said brightly back. Everyone was shocked. Kagome was at least ten times as peppy as usual! This was a bizarre contrast to the sobbing, depressed girl that Kagome had been ten minutes ago. They didn't know how to continue the conversation. "Well, uh, we got the Shikon no Tama shard," Miroku said awkwardly, showing them the shard. Kagome suddenly gasped. For some reason, she had a strange feeling that the Shikon no Tama was connected to the void in her heart. "Miroku, where are the other shards of the jewel?" she asked, her voiced rushed since she wanted to try and find answers as soon as she could. "They're right here, but why?" Sango answered in place of Miroku, holding the Jewel of Four Souls. Kagome nearly grabbed them from Sango. "K-Kagome?" Sango stammered, shocked by what was happening. Kagome didn't answer, she merely stared at the Jewel of Four souls. "This Jewel...I think this Jewel is somehow connected to the void." she said finally, her voice merely a whisper. "Void? What are you talking about?" InuYasha asked, his face showing a mix of confusion and worry. "Well, you see--" Sango started, but InuYasha interrupted her. "No time for that, look up there!" he yelled, pointing to the sky. The others raised their heads to the sky to see something flying down at breakneck speeds right towards them.

They all scrambled out of the way, but they hadn't needed to do so, because the something landed gracefully before them. This seemed strange, since it seemed that a giant black bat had landed. Someone slipped off of it's back as gracefully as this creature had landed: A cloaked figure, whose clothing matched the color of the bat. The figure looked Kagome straight in the eye, and said "You are Kagome, reincarnation of Kikyo?" in an eerily rough voice. "Y-yes, but why?" Kagome said. "I am a messenger of the Netherworld, the afterlife. I have come bearing a message for you from Kikyo." with no further words, they dropped a scroll into Kagome's hand, then bowed and left. The message was confusing, and Kagome could not quite understand what it meant after reading it four times over:

i Higurashi Kagome-

I write this to you as neither friend nor enemy, for although we were allies in that battle we still must be considered neutral. I write this mostly in the interest of InuYasha, and so without further interruption I must say this one thing to you:

Do NOT search for the final shard of the Shikon no Tama! /i 

"What is she talking about?" Shippo asked over Kagome's shoulder. "Stop collecting the Jewel? What for?" Sango asked. "If you ask me, she's just trying to stick a wrench into something," Miroku said skeptically. "Heh. She should know better than to even bother to try and stop me from doing that." InuYasha snorted. "Maybe we should listen to her," Kagome said slowly. "Are you crazy?" the others exclaimed in unison. "We're going to complete the Shikon no Tama no matter what!" InuYasha stated stubbornly. Kagome sighed. "Maybe you're right," she said.

A week later, the group was traveling by Kagome's direction to the final shard of the Shikon no Tama. It was the shard located in Kohaku's back. The group met up with him, and then had to stop and think. He had not yet been totally released of Naraku's hold, however they could not remove the shard and kill him, Sango was the one against that the most. They decided that another method would have to be found. This thought process took them the better part of an hour sitting with Kohaku, but the solution that they had hoped for could not be found. The reason for this was that their thought session was interrupted by what looked like a giant Buddha. The Buddha made the decision for them quickly, a tongue like a frog's flying out of its mouth and grabbing the shard on Kohaku's back.

"Kohaku!" Sango screamed, catching her younger brother as he fell, unconscious, to the ground. She did not know if he was alive or dead; she was afraid to find out. "You bastard!" InuYasha yelled, drawing his Tetsusaiga and rushing towards the Buddha. With one clean swipe, he cut the tongue, which was still slightly protruding from the enemy's mouth. Kagome caught it, then held it in one palm and the rest of the Shikon no Tama in the other while Miroku quickly finished the demon off with his Wind Tunnel. The battle finished already, they rushed to Sango's side, who was holding Kohaku. To everyone's amazement, he was breathing! "He's still alive, even without the shard!" Sango cried joyously. "And we have the final shard to the Shikon Jewel," Kagome said, "InuYasha, would you like to do it?" InuYasha nodded. Slowly, he took the two pieces of the jewel, and put them together in the palm of his hand. A bright pink light emitted from his closed hand, brightening until it was blinding. When the light dimmed, there was the Sacred Jewel, looking as good as new. "Fools, you should have listened to Kikyo!" a voice said behind them, and they turned to see what seemed to be a void talking to them. The void sucked in the Jewel, then spat it out again. It somehow managed to get InuYasha right in the heart. The force was so much that it went right through him, staining the Jewel blood red. Suddenly, it seemed as though all hell had broken loose. The land started dying, Kohaku stopped breathing, Miroku's wind tunnel seemed to go haywire, everything was starting to go awry. "What's happening?" Kagome screamed, holding InuYasha's now bleeding and unconscious form. The void spoke. "Kagome, reincarnation of Kikyo, it is time that you fulfill your destiny. It was prewritten that the Shikon no Tama would cause the balance of the world to go awry, and that you alone would save it." Kagome was confused. "What are you talking about?" she yelled over the hailstorm that had just started, despite the fact that it was summer. A scroll in an ornate case came from the void, landing at Kagome's feet. "Everything will be explained here," the void said, then disappeared.

It was that night, at Kaede's hut, that Kagome made her decision. Because the Shikon no Tama had been completed, everything had gone haywire. Sango was in deep depression, Miroku was in constant danger of his Wind Tunnel even more so now than before, Shippo now had respiratory problems, and InuYasha was still unconscious. The one she loved was now on the path to Death's door, and it was her fault for not fighting against it. Quietly, while everyone was asleep, she opened the scroll and read:

i Upon the creation of the world, the great spirit Kamikamiya decided that there should be those among the mortals that should secretly govern the land for him. Using his immense spiritual power, he created a sacred relic, an iridescent green orb, the Miko no Tama. Known as the Orb of Priestesses (A/N: actually, miko means shrine maiden, but close enough to me) or the Orb of Spirits, this Jewel gave immortality to young maidens born on the new moon of each month. Soon, the ones that were destined to become Kamikamiya's high officials were all born and baptized into immortality, and so the Jewel lost much of its spiritual power and turned into a dull object. One day, one of the high officials of Kamikamiya, Midoriko, sacrificed her own immortality to seal some of the most powerful demons into the Shikon no Tama. She had not yet learned of her immortality, and so unnecessarily died, this causing the shattering of the Miko no Tama. Years later, her reincarnation suffered a similar fate of premature death. This cycle is to repeat itself until one is brave enough to stop it. The one that breaks this curse must find the high officials of Kamikamiya, and retrieve from them the sacred relics that hold existing pieces of the jewel. /i 

Below that story was a diagram. It was a circular diagram, of sorts, and reminded Kagome of drawing an atom. The nucleus part, the center, was labeled 'Kamikamiya'. The first shell, or circle around it, was named 'Elemental'. Surrounding that was 'Emotions', and surrounding that was 'Hidden'. The title said 'Map of Mikos', so Kagome guessed that meant that there were different types of mikos that had to be found. "I guess this is all up to me," she said quietly, and it was then that she realized what she had to do, right then and there, if she wanted to follow this ritual. Tears springing to her eyes, she put the scroll into its case and put that into her backpack, making sure she also had plenty of food, water, and medicinal items for the journey she was about to begin. The note of farewell was splotched with her tears, as she told her friends that she had to leave to go on a journey, and go alone. She said she was sorry, and would miss them all horribly, then signed it with her name. Kagome almost did an unspoken goodbye and left right then bow, quiver, backpack and all, but she almost tripped over InuYasha, who was sleeping at the door. She looked down at him, then knelt and kissed him, gently, on the lips. "Goodbye, InuYasha," she said quietly, and the fact that she was leaving him behind made the tears start to gush, and she ran from the hut, starting on the new journey that she was fated to do.

((Sorry, I know this chapter wasn't the greatest, but it was a transition chapter starting a story out of the ashes of a story, and this is the first time I've done something like that...the next chapters will be a lot better, I promise!))


	4. Chapter 2

Already a week into her journey, Kagome seemed to be doing pretty well, considering she was alone in a place she still wasn't totally accustomed to. She had decided to go to a nearby village and ask the local priestess, who was known to have a high rank close to Kikyo's, if she could give her a start on her journey. It was just now that she approached this village, and started to search for the priestess in question. As would be expected with a well known person, it was not hard to find her, a surprisingly short black-haired, almost violet eyed woman. Kagome at first could hardly say anything, finding it shocking that she had to look down to see this noble woman, who barely came up to her chin. She made no mention of this, however, since she didn't want to be rude. "Lady Kiyonomi?" she finally managed to say. "That would be me, Miss Kagome, I would presume you are?" Kiyonomi replied, in a soft, young voice that spoke of the leaves of autumn and the snow of winter at the same time. Kagome blinked. This person was nowhere near what she had thought she would be like. "That's my name, yes," she said, trying as hard as she could to not ask how Kiyonomi knew this. "A truly powerful priestess can see the unseen, read the unread, and known the unknown," Kiyonomi said, as though she knew what Kagome was thinking. "Um, Miss Kiyonomi...I mean, Lady Kiyonomi, I'm here to ask for your help with something," she started. "Come inside, we can discuss things there." Kiyonomi said, inviting her towards a small hut, actually smaller than the rest of the village huts. Inside, Kagome spread out the scroll, which Kiyonomi proceeded to scrutinize. "So, you are the next one..." she said quietly. The next few minutes proceeded like this, silence save Kiyonomi's aloud thoughts. Finally, Kagome couldn't take it anymore, she had to ask. "How old are you?" she blurted. Kiyonomi looked up. "Thirteen. Seriously, I am." she said, reading Kagome like an open book. "It's a long story, if we have the time I'll explain it better. But right now we have to deal with the ritual of the Miko no Tama, I'm sure you'll agree that's more important than ages?"

"Dammit! Where is she?" InuYasha exclaimed, storming back into Kaede's hut. "She said she went off to do something that only she could do, InuYasha, and it looked like she really meant it. She could be anywhere in Japan!" Sango said, looking over the note that had been wrinkled from tears. Miroku and Shippo came in. "No sign of her anywhere," they both reported. "Dammit!" InuYasha said again, punching the ground with his fist, making a six inch deep depression. "Ye need not to worry, InuYasha." Kaede said quietly from the kettle, where she was brewing dinner. "Kagome can take care of herself, you just have to believe in her." Sango sighed. "We know that, but that doesn't stop us from being worried." Kaede nodded knowingly. "I know, I admit I am a bit worried as well, but I believe in her, I believe she will complete the journey she set out on and return safely." InuYasha punched the ground again. "That's not the point!" Shippo blinked. "Then what is?" he asked. InuYasha growled in frustration. "She shouldn't go out alone there!" This obvious act of extreme worry got a look from everyone else. "WHAT?" InuYasha yelled, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

Kiyonomi lead Kagome up the many steps to a large temple at the top of a nearby mountain. "This," she said, "is the o-tera Genjutsu no Chikara, or the Power of Magic temple. As its name suggests, this is no ordinary temple. This is a temple run by miko with exceptional chi. No offense to your present skills, Miss Kagome, but I think you should train here for a while." Kagome bowed humbly. "Thank you, Miss Kiyonomi," she said.

A few days went by, and some more, and finally a month had flown past. It was now mid-April, and the cherry blossoms were beginning to fall. Kagome was dressed in a kimono, which was a beautiful deep navy, dark but still glowing as though the twilight sky, with a cherry blossom pink obi. She had been before wearing her hakama, which were sparkling white like flowing light, as she did her prayers that morning for this event. This was her graduation ceremony, and as she stood before the sacred tree of the temple, Kiyonomi came to her, carrying several objects. "Lady Kagome, I bestow on you the sacred gifts of the gods upon your becoming an official Priestess, a bringer of peace, a warrior of justice." She held out the first item, a thick rice paper covered and string bound package, and said "We took the liberty of washing the robes you were wearing when you arrived, however I would say along your journey it would not be wise to wear them, so we also give you these," another package was on top of the first in a flash, "to help you stay inconspicuous along your journey." Kagome accepted these gratefully, then placed them on the ground before the tree like she was told to do. A quiver that never emptied and a bow that could never break, paper and ink for sutras that never ran out, a package of several weapons, most of them common to ninjutsu, and a sword, which, instead of being made for being warn on the hip shrank, so that it could be warn as a necklace when not needed. It was therefore named twice, the full size Kokoro to Tama, and the miniature size named Chibi Ken. Once she received these, Kagome purified them before the great tree of the temple.

Two days later, Kagome finished saying her good-byes and preparing for her departure. She was back in her school clothes, and was packing everything in her bag; Kiyonomi must have enchanted the bag, since even her bow fit inside with plenty of room to spare. As she walked to the edge of town, there was a crowd of all of the townspeople bidding farewell to her. People handed her some food for her journey: a few onigiri, a small packet of rice, whatever they had that they could spare. Now fully loaded down, Kagome followed Kiyonomi's directions to a mountain called Tatsuryu-san, Mount Tatsuryu. It was circled on the map Kiyonomi had given her the night before, and it was filled with spiritual power, so it was more like an ancient GPS system since it could show both the destination and your current location. "Kiyonomi-san is very wise," she said gratefully as she walked along the path.

Culture Notes/Definitions:

Chibi Ken - chibi for a person means shrimp, dwarf, or runt, but instead of using chiisai, the adjective for small, I used chibi.

Kokoro to Tama - heart and soul

Hakama - the pants worn over a kimono. Example: Kikyo's outfit is the red kimono and the red hakama

Kimono - a traditional Japanese dress, worn by both men and women, but men usually wore simple kimonos and hakama, while women mostly wore more elaborate kimonos with an obi

Obi - the sash of a kimono

Tatsuryuu-san - Mt.Tatsuryu. As far as I know it doesn't really exist, the name comes from the two words for dragon since I have no clue what's right. My textbook says tatsu but I was always told ryu.

GPS - Global Positioning System

Author's Note:

I'm sorry if this chapter is relatively short, I'm still getting started with the story and it usually takes me a while to get things into full swing. Hopefully this chapter wasn't so confusing as the last! (And hopefully I can write another chapter without another author's note xD)


	5. Chapter 3

For four entire days, all Kagome did was walk on towards Tatsuryu-san, resting only to eat and sleep. She had plenty of time alone, and, with basically nothing else to do, she spend much of this time thinking. She wondered how InuYasha and the others were doing, and wondered if she would ever see them again. She hoped that she did, that their paths would meet again, and that she'd be able to be with them again, but something told her that if it happened, it would not be for a long time. First, of course, she would have to finish her journey, which was taking an awfully long time already. It had been almost two months since she'd left Kaede's hut that night, since she'd last seen dear InuYasha's sleeping face, watched his ear twitch slightly in his sleep as she left…

A tear fell onto the ground, and Kagome then realized that she had been crying with the memories of her friends and family, and mostly InuYasha. She missed them more than she'd thought was possible, more than she'd ever missed anything before. Sure, she'd missed her friends and family in the present when she was in the Sengoku Jidai, and she would miss that group when she returned to the present, but this was the first time that she was apart from both groups, and that this isolation was planned to be at least semi-permanent for a long period of time. The tears began to come in their watery masses, and Kagome stopped to huddle under a tree and cry herself to sleep.

The next morning, Kagome awoke to discover that she had stopped right at the base of Tatsuryu-san. "I wonder what I need to do here," she mused aloud, suddenly realizing that she had no idea what to do. "Err…" she looked around, trying desperately to find a hint or clue. That giving no aid to her problem, she took out the map Kiyonomi had given her, hoping that the GPS-like system would give her some kind of help. She was in luck, as she noticed that besides the blip that was her and the separate blip that was her destination, a line connected the two, and, stemming from that, another line with words written on it. It was a riddle, difficult, but blessed in Kagome's eyes as she'd be worse off without it. The riddle said:

Upon sharp gray backs I ride

Until they give way and down I fall

My thunderous fate will also hide

A sacred treasure that is oh so small

"What could this mean? This doesn't help at all!" Kagome whined, realizing that, although it was meant as help, all the riddle was doing was confusing her more. Deciding that since the blip seemed to be on the mountain, she began to climb. After many tries to go up, she found that there seemed to be a sort of natural trail that went around the mountain, curving in a continuous circle. It was probably the slowest way to get anywhere, but at least it was getting somewhere. After nearly an hour, she began to hear the sound of water, and sped up her pace, hoping to get a drink. Through a clearing of trees, she found herself at the base of a waterfall. "Oh, how beautiful!" she exclaimed, deciding that it was high time for a rest. She sat against a tree and stared at the rushing water. As she looked, something was nagging the back of her mind, as though there was something important about this that she could not figure out. She thought and thought, but couldn't solve the nagging's cause, which made the nagging worse. "I've always wondered what's behind a waterfall," she mused aloud, and then it hit her. She hastily took out the riddle and read it over. The waterfall did run over many gray rocks, although they were not quite as sharp after years of erosion. The falling water did make a thunderous roar, meaning that the last part…

"Well, only one way to find out!" Kagome decided, walking over to the waterfall. Without a second thought, she dove in under the pummeling forces.

She was instantly forced down, nearly slamming onto the rocky bed due to the extreme force of the falls. Nevertheless, she was a good swimmer, and powerfully propelled herself onward, though having to often push herself onward and away from the bottom. It took a long while, and soon she felt the warning signs that she needed air. Unfortunately, it would be tight; she was still being forced down onto the rock bottom, although she was almost through the falls. She tried not to panic, just concentrate on swimming and getting to the surface. The force began to lessen, and now she really needed air. She clawed her way up to the surface; she had to take a breath now, but she wasn't there yet, she was going to drown in another second...

Kagome rocketed out of the water, taking a huge, deep breath of crisp, moist air. She was gently sprayed by the waterfall, which was now in front of her. Now behind the falls, there was a small cavern, which had prisms of light all around from the sun shining through the watery curtain at its entrance. It was an awesome sight, being behind such a monstrous force. But there were other, more important matters at hand, like the treasure mentioned in the riddle.

Walking along the spray-soaked rock floor, Kagome began inspecting as many inches of the cavern as she could, looking for anything out of the ordinary that could count as 'treasure'. She had a feeling that the treasure was related to the Miko that she was supposed to find, and it was then that she realized that she didn't even know which Miko she was looking for!

A sparkle caught her eye near the entrance of the cave. At first, she thought it was just the reflection of light off of the water; in fact, that's what she thought it was every time it flashed. However, after the sixth hundredth time that it sparkled, she noticed that the sparkle did not seem to come from the water after all. Catching her breath, she could do nothing to slow her racing heart as she crossed the cave to investigate. This had to be the treasure, that's how it always happened in movies and fairy tales, and right now, it was kind of like she was in a fairy tale. The sparkle was coming off the ground, so she bent down, examining the small pools of water in the rock. Finally, she spied what she was looking for. A small, blue stone was polished and carved into an 'F' shape. It looked like another common part of fairy tales. "A key?" Kagome pondered, incredulous at how she was living her solo fairy tale now, how the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together as though being written as a book. Of course, if this was indeed like a story, then she would soon have to look for the next…er…key…for the progression of her tale: a keyhole. She searched every inch of the cavern, but not even the tiniest crevice could be found. Deducting that the keyhole was outside of the cavern, she pocketed the strange skeleton key, and dove into the raging waters.

It was under the pounding of the waterfall that Kagome saw it. Glistening in the trails of sunlight that reached the sandy bottom, the top of what appeared to be a giant conch shell peeked from behind layers of sand. She swam right over it, making sure it was directly below her the whole time as she surfaced. It took one glance for her to memorize the position of the shell; it was rather easy, as the shell happened to be in the dead center of the waterfall's pool. The only problem about the shell was that it was several feet down, and getting down there, taking out the key, and seeing if it was the lock without running out of air would be difficult.

Struck by an idea, she whipped out her sutra paper and ink, and quickly scribbled a sacred text. Throwing it into the water, where it hit dead center above the shell, she recited a prayer that accompanied the text. There was a loud rushing of water; like the waterfall's thundering, but different, and a whirlpool appeared around the now glowing sutra paper. Within seconds, the whirlpool became a wall of water surrounding a circular area around the shell and sutra.

"It worked!" Kagome grinned, now able to reach the shell without having the issue of limited air supply. She swam over to the exposed area, diving down as far as she could so that she would not fall through the newly created area of air. Without any hesitation, she poked the key into the shell, and turned it clockwise.

Kagome's hunch about this out-of-the-ordinary object, which was, in any other case, ordinary, turned out to be correct; when she turned the key inside of the conch shell, the ground trembled, and the conch shell began to rise. Kagome's sutra, which should have lasted for at least ten minutes longer, suddenly lost all of its strength, and water came crashing down on Kagome, forcing her onto the lakebed. Said lakebed soon began to move, and Kagome then found herself being forced upward, sitting upon an Indian-style turret, as though she was on a tower of the Taj Majal. With the conch shell and its glittering beacon of a key on top, Kagome hurtled towards the surface, which she soon found herself well above. It was then that the movement stopped abruptly. Kagome wasn't ready for it, however, so she felt herself leaving the surface she was on, hitting it again hard, rolling a few times, and then she saw the water, about fifteen feet below her and closing in fast.

Kagome ungracefully smacked the water, doing the equivalent to a belly flop off of a high dive diving board. A bevy of large bubbles rose to the surface slightly before she did, indicating that the wind had been knocked out of her. When she finally broke through the surface, she had to take at least five minutes to just sit there and float, getting her breath back. Watching her hair float around like raven-black seaweed, she contemplated the day. She had begun on the same journey that Kiyonomi had sent her on, to Tatsuryu-san. Now that she was on that mountain, she was more or less on her own. Kiyonomi's map had given her a gentle push in the right direction, but she had been the one to figure out the key and keyhole's identity, and utilize them.

Thinking about the key and keyhole reminded Kagome of what had just happened to take the wind out of her. Looking up, she realized that she had indeed been atop a tower; a tall, pale cyan tower, with a light coral pink seashell-colored top. Glittering atop that was the key that had been in the waterfall cavern. Looking down into the water, Kagome could see that the tower rose from the sand as though it were merely a sandcastle built from the lakebed.

A glittering similar to the one that had drawn her to the cavern was coming to Kagome's attention, being that it was around where she was staring under the water. Deciding to take a chance, she dove down, and discovered that the key material was also decorating a large door in the tower. According to typical fairy-tale etiquette, this was the way to the next destination.

Resurfacing, Kagome swam over to shore, and began to prepare three more sutras. The first was like the original one she had used; another whirlpool began, forming a dry, air-filled cavity around the tower in the lake. The second sutra she wrote was not activated, but merely prayed upon in a certain way, so that it became waterproof. Kagome grabbed the third sutra, made it, too, waterproof, and used it on her bag. Her bag then became not only sealed and airtight, but also small and light, so that it would not inhibit her progress in whatever lay ahead.

Once at the door, Kagome took out the second sutra. With one hand, she put it on her face and activated it; simultaneously, she deactivated the sutra creating the air cavity. This time, Kagome was ready for the rushing water. She let it sweep into her, and let it push her into the door, which then bounced like jelly before dissolving. The water swept her in and up, nearly slamming her into the underside of the roof that she had fallen off of. However, just as it was about to do this, the flow stopped, and all became calm.

Confident in her scuba sutra, which allowed her to breathe underwater, Kagome begin to swim downwards, where she hoped that she would encounter a miko and get a shard of the Miko no Tama.


End file.
